


You don't divide love (you multiply it)

by AlexewithanE



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: But he's working on it, Gen, May is a good parent, Peter Parker Gets Shot, Peter has self-esteem issue, Peter meets Harley, also a sprinkle of fluff, because tony loves his kids, broken web-shooters, very light angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:55:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29701578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexewithanE/pseuds/AlexewithanE
Summary: In which Peter meets Harley, feels bad about it and gets hurt. Luckily, May is there to knock some sense into that thick head of his.Or,Peter thought he was done with his self-esteem issues, until he realizes Mr. Stark has another kid.
Relationships: Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 2
Kudos: 60





	You don't divide love (you multiply it)

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy my very original take on this very original concept.

Peter has always lacked self confidence. It’s no secret. But since being Spider-Man and meeting Mr. Stark, he felt a lot better with himself. He was aware of the friends he had - MJ and Ned were a blessing, really - and he was so grateful for Aunt May. But most importantly, he finally felt like he deserved all it.

It showed in his attitude, too. At school, instead of trying to be invisible, he would keep his head high, laughing loudly at MJ’s snarky remarks without worrying about other people’s judgment. He grew out of his awkward stage and he was very happy about it. Even though the spider bite did wonders to his physical aspect, it was really his friends and family who could help him get better in every other aspect of his life. Help him realize that he didn’t need to be cool and didn’t need to feel bad about not being cool. He could finally be himself.

It was the nearing the end of the school year and life had never been better. After the homecoming, Mr. Stark had finally realized that keeping Spider-Man away from Peter did nothing good for the both of them. He also respected that the boy wasn’t ready to be an avenger yet. But he didn’t completely turn his back on him like after Germany. Instead, he called and texted Peter on a regular basis, to invite him to the compound where they worked together in the lab. Then, these visits evolved to movie nights, then to full weekends. It didn’t happen every week, of course, since it was a couple hours away, but every two Fridays, Peter could be seen entering the Avengers’ compound and making his way Tony and Pepper’s private apartment. Mr. Stark seemed to like having him around. He cleared a guest room for Peter to sleep in and he kept their projects aside, waiting for him to work on them. Peter even had his own desk in Tony’s lab.

After almost a year like this, their relationship was a well-oiled machine that Peter knew he could rely on. Whatever it was, whether he got heart during patrol, wanted to talk about an issue at school or needed help to do his homework (sure it didn’t happen that often, but having a genius close by could always be handy), Peter knew Tony would always be there. The man became an important figure in his life, just as much as May and his friends.

Considering this, Peter shouldn’t have felt abandoned. It was unfair towards Mr. Stark and everything they went through together over the past years. But Peter wasn’t perfect and sometimes, his old insecurities came back to bite him in the ass.

It was a second Friday. Happy picked him up from school and drove him upstate. He couldn’t wait to talk to Mr. Stark about his web-shooters. He broke them last time he went out as Spider-Man and he wanted to take repairing them as an opportunity to try out this idea he had to improve them. He also made a new formula for the web itself and all he needed was for the man to go over it and make sure there were no mistake in it to start mixing the chemicals.

When he came out of the elevator into the Penthouse, he called out to his mentor: “Hey, Mr. Stark, I have a super amazingly great idea for my suit, and I want to know if you think it’s…”

He trailed off immediately when he saw that Mr. Stark had company. In the living room sat another boy around Peter’s age, and they seemed to be in a very animated conversation. Mr. Stark raised his head to look at Peter, surprised to see him.

“Oh, hi, Pete! What are you doing here?”

“Huh… It’s my weekend here. Happy picked me up at school.”

“He did? It’s been two weeks already?”

The way he said it stung a bit, but Peter knew better. Mr. Sark was a busy man, of course time flew by too quickly for his liking. It had nothing to do with Peter. Right?

“Yeah. It has.”

“Oh well, might as well introduce you to Harley then.”

The stranger smiled and waved his hand. Peter returned the favor, if a bit forced, not sure why he was feeling so down suddenly.

“Harley, Peter. Peter, Harley. I met him when he was a kid, helped me with some stuff and we stayed in contact since. He’s a mechanic, you see, so we work on engineering projects together sometimes. It had been a while since we didn’t see each other, and he paid me a surprise visit. Can you believe it? He drove all the way from Tennessee! By himself!”

“Well, I had to put this new driving licence to use,” said Harley, shrugging, trying to suppress a proud grin.

Peter faked being impressed, not liking the fond tone of his mentor. Mr. Stark had never talked about Harley before. Even though he knew this train of thought was dangerous, Peter couldn’t help but wonder if he wasn’t important enough for Mr. Stark to talk to him about these different side of his life. Like the fact that he had another kid, apparently. One he had met way before Peter. It was childish, but after waiting to see Mr. Stark for two long weeks and wanting to share his ideas with him, he kind of wished he would have the man all to himself, at least for a couple hours. Turned out he now had to share his affection.

“Since you’re here, we could all go work in lab together! I never imagined you two meeting like this, out of the blue, but hey, why not? When life gives you lemons, right?”

“Right,” said Peter without enthusiasm.

“I would love to, of course!” said Harley. And, of course, Mr. Stark beamed at him.

They made their way into Mr. Stark’s private lab. It was obvious that Harley knew his way around. It was not the first, nor the second or even the third time he came here. Peter stayed silent while the two of them talked about things they did last time Harley was here, or about Harley’s family, and other topics Peter couldn’t relate to because up until _fifteen minutes_ ago he had no clue Harley even _existed_.

Peter stayed silent while they worked on the Iron Man suit. The Spider-Man suit would have to wait; he couldn’t possibly tinker on it in front of Harley without risking his secret identity. He would have to use his old web shooters, even though their aim was a bit off and he wasn’t used to compensating for it anymore.

He sat beside them, feeling utterly useless and invisible. 

“What’s up with you kid?” said Mr. Stark.

It took Peter a moment to realize he was talking to him. “Huh, nothing, just got a lot of homework due for Monday. I’ve been a bit behind in school lately because of, you know, stuff.”

Mr. Stark frowned a little. “Do you want to work on your homework and assignments in the living room? If it’s bothering you so much, maybe you should get it off your mind and then you can join us again when you’re done.”

Peter felt a pang in his chest. “Yeah, I guess I should do that,” he answered, forcing a smile. He stood up and made his way to the exit.

Before the door could close completely, he heard his mentor say to Harley: “Sorry about Peter, he’s usually more fun than that…”

It hit him even harder than the rest that Mr. Stark felt like he had to apologize about him. Peter walked right into the elevator. “Friday, take me back to the lobby please.”

“Of course, Peter. Do you intend to leave?”

“Yeah. I do.” Peter took his phone to call Happy.

“What is it kid? Tony did something stupid?” the man answered half joking half serious.

“No, no, I just don’t feel so good. I’m sorry for asking you this, because you just rode me here, but can you take me back home?”

“Alright I’m coming kid.”

Peter didn’t say a word the whole two hours of car. Happy asked him a few questions before giving up. Once in Queens, he told Peter to call if there was anything.

“Of course,” he answered even though he knew he wouldn’t because then it would make him even more of a bother. He entered the apartment. May was on the couch, watching an episode of Friends and eating noodles, the only she was able to cook without making a mess.

“Honey? What are you doing here? I thought it was you weekend at the compound.”

The question was so similar to Mr. Stark’s and Peter suddenly had to repress tears. May just had that power over him, to read into his soul and make his emotions surface.

“Oh, sweetheart, what is it? What happened?”

“Nothing, I’m just tired. I missed a couple hours of sleep this week because of homework and patrol and other stuff… I wasn’t feeling well, so I told Mr. Stark I’d skip this weekend.”

May saw right though him. “I don’t know what’s really up with you, but you don’t have to tell me tonight. How about you come here and watch TV with me?”

Peter tried to stop thinking about it for the rest of the night. Mr. Stark texted him once or twice to ask him where he was gone but after Peter’s quick answer, the man didn’t message him again.

How could Peter have not seen that he was just Harley’s replacement when the boy couldn’t be there? Of course, Peter would be the second-hand kid. Mr. Stark missed Harley, so he distracted himself with Peter, to pass the time. For once in his life, Peter had felt like he had a purpose as himself, not just as Spider-Man. But now… had he been lying to himself all along? How could he have been so blind?

The following week, Peter didn’t talk to Happy or Mr. Stark. Harley was still at the tower, so they didn’t need him. When Harley went back to Tennessee, maybe he’d call them, but meanwhile… Peter knew when to tap out. If they wanted to talk to him, they would reach out. (They didn’t.)

He installed his old web shooter on the high-tech suit and went out on his first patrol since Thursday. It felt great to be swinging again and for a while, he could forget about his problems. The night wasn’t too busy, just enough to keep his mind occupied. Around eleven thirty, he decided to do a last check up and then go to bed. He had just finished the final round when he heard a scream.

A woman was cornered in a dark alley by five tall men. Spider-Man jumped in right in time to save her from being hurt. He was able to distract them long enough for her to escape. “Seriously, guys, that was not very nice. Did no one teach you any good manners?” he said as he webbed up the third man.

“You should not put your nose where it doesn’t belong,” said one of them, taking out a gun.

“Am I supposed to be scared?” mocked Peter.

Peter easily avoided the few shots thrown his way, until the other guy took a gun out as well. He successfully ducked their attacks, but when the time came to web them up, he forgot, in the heat of the moment, that the aim of his web was off and missed his target by a few inches. The next thing he knew, a bullet tore its way through his shoulder. Pain exploded all the way down his left arm, and he was left half incapacitated. His knees buckled under the pain and it took every bit of concentration to finally finish the fight. Bleeding profusely, Peter let himself fall on the ground. He felt dizzy already.

“I am calling Mr. Stark,” said Karen’s voice.

He tried to stop her, but his blabbering wasn’t clear enough for the AI to understand it.

“Hey, kid! It’s a bit late for you to still be out, isn’t it?” Tony seemed as chipper as always, but Peter could hear a tinge of concern in his voice.

“I… huh, I…”

“Pete?”

“Sorry, I’m… didn’t want to bother you… but Karen… shot…” The words were slurring out of his mouth and Peter doubted Mr. Stark could understand the specifics, but he did get the urgency of the call.

“Don’t move, I’m on my way.” The call disconnected.

Peter, half unconscious, could only wait for him while bleeding out from his shoulder. It wasn’t the first time he got shot, so he knew the basics. The wound was through and through; the bullet wasn’t stuck anywhere inside of him. He would start healing pretty soon, but until then, he might need a bit of help: a blood infusion, a few stitches… pain killers would be very nice at the moment. But he also didn’t want to see Tony. As immature as it might sound, Peter was still holding a grudge. Against himself, mostly, for feeling the way he did, but against Mr. Stark too, who didn’t seem to care anymore. _That’s not true_ , the rational side of his brain said. _He’s coming to get you now, isn’t he?_ Peter sighed and gritted his teeth when the movement made his wound ache.

A few minutes later, he could hear Iron Man’s repulsors, and Peter finally let himself pass out, knowing, despite his conflicted feelings, that he would be in good hand.

He woke in the med bay, unsurprisingly.

“Peter?” said a voice from the other side of the room. It was May. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?”

“As fine as you can feel after getting shot.” His aunt winced at his words. “Sorry. It doesn’t hurt, I swear. I just feel tired and stupid.”

“You’re not stupid, honey. It’s not your fault that you were attacked.”

Peter didn’t dare look at her in the eyes, scared that she would read his mind, but she didn’t even need to see his face to know that there was something else.

“Okay, Peter, I know you don’t like to talk about your feelings, but this, whatever it is, really bothers you. Talk to me.” Incapable of stopping it, Peter felt a single tear fell on his cheek. “Oh, Peter.”

Aunt May went to sit on the bed next to him and take him into her arms.

“I… I don’t know what is wrong with me,” he said, giving up. “I thought, maybe… but I’m just a blind idiot. I should’ve stopped seeing him after the Vulture. I should’ve known he didn’t...”

“Peter… Who are you talking about? Tony?”

“Yeah…” Peter, now sobbing and crying without restrain, explained everything to her, from last Friday night to his insecurities. “He replaced me. Well, no, I can’t even say that Harley replaced me, since they knew each other for like seven years. If anything, I’m the replacement. A temporary distraction.”

“Peter, I forbid you to think like that! He’s the one who insisted you visit him every weekend, remember? He wants you around. He _loves_ you. And I’m pretty sure he loves this other kid too. But you know what? That doesn’t take anything away from you. Love can’t be divided. Only multiplied.”

The more Peter thought about it, the more he saw the truth in his aunt’s words. “Thanks, May.”

“It’s my job to remind you of just how much you are loved, Peter. Even when you don’t see it.”

“Old age makes you wise.”

“Sweetheart, I love you, but don’t push your luck.”

“Love you too, Aunt May.”

Mr. Stark came to visit him not long after that and spent the rest of the day in the med bay with Peter.

“What about Harley?” asked Peter, after Mr. Stark suggested they watch a movie.

“He’s a big boy, he can take care of himself for a few hours.”

“You don’t have work to do?”

“Don’t worry, kid, spending time with you will always win over anything SI related.”

This warmed Peter’s heart and he stopped objecting. For the first time in a week, Peter felt at peace. Around ten in the night, as Mr. Stark started to leave, the man turned to the kid. “Hey, Pete, how did it happen?”

” What? You mean, me getting shot?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I was using my old web shooters. They’re a bit off on the aim and when I fought with the criminals, it gave them the time to get to me.”

“Why were you using your old web shooters? I made you high tech ones for a reason.”

“Yeah, but, hum. They’re kinda broken,” Peter said sheepishly.

“Why didn’t you come to me? I would’ve helped you repair them!”

“Well… I did. Last Friday. But I couldn’t really talk to you about it in front of Harley, so…”

Mr. Stark looked at him a few seconds. “Is this why you left? Because of Harley?”

Peter looked down. “Look, I’m not going to lie. I was jealous. But it’s okay now. May talked some sense into me and I realize how childish I was being. I know you actually like spending time with me, or you wouldn’t invite me to the compound. It’s just… seeing Harley, watching you two interact together… I felt out of place.”

Tony came back to sit on the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry I made you feel this way, kid. I was excited to see Harley after almost three months and… I completely forgot about lab night. But it has nothing to do with you, you know that, right? You’re not a bother, you didn’t do anything wrong, and I really want you here.”

“I know that, Mr. Stark. I just… this isn’t on you. You didn’t do anything to make me like this, really. It’s on me to learn my own worth and start loving myself more.”

Tony smiled softly. “I wish I was as mature as you when I was you age.” He put a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Get better. When you’re out of this bed, we’ll remedy to this web-shooter situation.”

“Alright,” grinned Peter.

The next day, Peter was up and about, more energized than ever after staying put for almost two full days. It was now Sunday night and he had to go back home, because, well, school. Most of his final exams were this week and he couldn’t afford to miss them. But Tony came to see him before he left, making him promise to come by the next weekend.

And Peter did. He expected Harley to be there, this time, and he had made his peace with the other boy during the last week, talking about it to May and explaining why he felt so left out. Even after those discussions, Peter still felt a bit jealous, but that wasn’t only about his self-esteem issue, as he understood Friday night, when he entered the lab and saw his mentor with Harley. No, he just really loved Mr. Stark, and, as weird as it was to admit it even to himself, he kind of saw the man as a father figure. Peter wasn’t used to sharing the people he loved.

Peter went into the lab, putting the thought of Tony and father figures far in the back of his mind. “Hey, Mr. Stark! Hello, Harley!”

“Hey, kid!” Tony lifted his head to throw a bright smile at him. “How was school?”

“Like usual.” And just like that, they fell back into their old habit of small talks, bickering and science blabbering. Except, this time, there was a third brain to exchange ideas with.

“So, you’re pretty smart, from what I gathered,” said Harley when Tony left to get some food.

Peter shrugged. “Well, I guess I wouldn’t be here otherwise. What about you? He never really talked about…” He trailed of, embarrassed.

“Talked about me?” finished Harley with a chuckle. “Yeah, well, we did meet in a weird time of his life. The mandarin and all that?”

“Yeah, I remember seeing the news about that, a few years back. My aunt kept calling Mr. Stark an idiot for giving his address to a terrorist. She explained to me very clearly that if I ever did that, she would ground me for the rest of my life.”

Harley laughed loudly at that. “Yeah, well. I kind of took him into my home when he had nowhere else to go. If you can call ‘Tony Stark broke into my garage in the middle of the night and made me get him a sandwich’ taking him in.”

“You too?” said Peter. “He didn’t break into my garage, but he basically invited himself into my apartment while I was in school. I came back to him and my aunt talking casually on the couch, as if it was a normal thing, and he basically lied to her face before kidnapping me and bringing me all the way to Germany.”

Peter bit his lips. Would Harley pick up on the whole Germany thing? If he did, he didn’t say anything, proceeding to tell another embarrassing story about Tony. When the man in question came back, he found them talking and laughing together like old friends. Tony stayed back, leaning against the door, watching the kids build something together—it looked suspiciously like a potato gun.

And if he mentally corrected himself (these boys were _his_ kids), well, it was nobody’s business.

**Author's Note:**

> I watched Iron Man 3 this week and I just had to write a fic about Peter and Harley. I know it's been done a lot, but then again, everything has.  
> Also, English is my second language so if there are any mistakes, you can tell me and I'll go back to correct it.


End file.
